Dream come true for writer formerly from Oakham

Rutland writer Ben Own, who is trying to fund a sitcom called Dream Writers in the US. Photo: Deb Hofstetter. EMN-150303-105928001

A Rutland-born writer and actor hopes to see his new sitcom on US TV screens after a successful online funding campaign.

Ben Owen, who grew up in Oakham but now lives in the US, is part of a team trying to bring their idea to the small screen.

Alongside creator Nathan Bach, executive producer Dalton Lilley and associate producer Shea Castle, Ben launched a campaign on kickstarter.com to raise funds for a pilot episode of Dream Writers. The show is based on the premise that people’s dreams are written for them, and follows the “dream writers” in their everyday office lives.

After weeks of spreading the word the team reached their £75,000 target on Saturday. Ben was delighted to hit the funding total, and said he was excited to get the pilot into production.

“After being brought on, I just loved the concept”, he added. “I thought it was original and allowed for a twist on the modern workplace sitcom, where we could enter in this dream world and really get creative.

“The possibilities are endless and from a filmmaking perspective also allow for more cinematic, ambitious, set-pieces.”